Health

No one should have to go without the medical care they need simply because they can’t afford it. Investments in Medicaid, ALL Kids, mental health care and other health services help Alabamians stay healthy and productive, and they lay the foundation for a future where all of our residents have a chance to thrive, regardless of their income or background.

Arise works to identify and eliminate the structural barriers that prevent many of our friends and neighbors across the state from accessing the health care they need. We examine how a variety of policy solutions, including Medicaid expansion, would help break down those walls and strengthen the health care infrastructure on which all Alabamians rely.

Fact Sheet

Funding surge is a path for Alabama to untax groceries, expand Medicaid

Alabama’s broken tax system usually starves our state of money to fund education, public health and other basic responsibilities adequately. But 2022 may be different. Record tax revenues and a surge of federal recovery dollars could allow lawmakers to address longstanding state needs and inequities – if they have the political courage: Tax revenues for [...]
Issues
Medicaid Expansion, Health
Date
December 21, 2021
Author
Carol Gundlach
Personal Stories

When Alabama’s coverage gap hit home for my family

This story originally appeared on AL.com. Our borders have become irregular as COVID-19 closes in on almost every part of our lives. The pandemic has made all of us realize how the shapes of our families are becoming irreparably different. This summer, the shape of my own life changed. Cathy Parker was one of my [...]
Issues
Health, Coronavirus, Medicaid Expansion
Date
October 27, 2021
Author
Whit Sides
Resources

The State of Working Alabama 2021: What policy barriers should Alabama remove on this Labor Day?

It’s Labor Day weekend. The days are ever so slightly cooler. Football season has started. And Alabama’s economy is officially “open for business.” So why are so many jobs still going unfilled in our state? Why are employers looking for workers and not finding them? A look at some very interesting data can provide a [...]
Issues
Economic Opportunity, Coronavirus, Medicaid Expansion, Health, Public Transportation, Safety Net
Date
September 3, 2021
Author
Carol Gundlach
Member Resources

Get involved with the Cover Alabama campaign!

Click here to download a printable PDF of the Cover Alabama flyer. Help us build a better, healthier Alabama for everyone! Alabama Arise is a proud member of the Cover Alabama Coalition. Cover Alabama is a nonpartisan alliance of more than 110 advocacy groups, businesses, community organizations, consumer groups, health care providers and religious congregations [...]
Issues
Health, Medicaid Expansion
Date
July 21, 2021
Author
Letters & Testimony

To strengthen the common good: Six principles for allocating Alabama’s ARPA funding

Introduction Dear Governor Ivey, One of the darkest years in recent memory has put Alabama’s families, communities, health system, businesses – and our leaders at all levels – to the test. Thank you for all your efforts to keep Alabamians safe and secure during this unprecedented emergency. Now that a post-COVID world is dawning, the [...]
Issues
Safety Net, Tax Reform, Economic Opportunity, Coronavirus, Medicaid Expansion, Budgets, Criminal Justice, Health, Housing, Public Transportation
Date
July 7, 2021
Author
Alabama Arise
Personal Stories

‘It’s time for someone to stick up for us’: Walker County’s need for Medicaid expansion

[caption id="attachment_5522" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Rev. Robin Hinkle is the rector at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Jasper. Her ministry has greatly scaled up food assistance to the community to help ease financial suffering during the COVID-19 recession. (Photo courtesy of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church)[/caption] Walker County has gained notoriety in recent years as one of [...]
Issues
Health, Coronavirus, Medicaid Expansion
Date
April 15, 2021
Author
Whit Sides
Fact Sheet

Now is the time! Medicaid expansion talking points in Alabama

Timing On Thursday, March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act, which will bring back federal funding for states to newly expand Medicaid. Thanks to this law, if Alabama expanded Medicaid, the state would get an estimated $940 million boost in federal Medicaid funds over two years. This is enough money to [...]
Issues
Budgets, Health, Coronavirus, Medicaid Expansion
Date
March 12, 2021
Author
Chris Sanders
Letters & Testimony

Alabama Arise, partners urge COVID-19 vaccine priority for Alabamians served through Medicaid waivers

Alabamians served through home- and community-based Medicaid waivers qualify for nursing home care but receive their care at home from community providers through the state’s Medicaid waiver program. The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) has acknowledged that these individuals belong in the Phase 1a priority level for the COVID-19 vaccine. But they have not [...]
Issues
Health, Coronavirus
Date
February 26, 2021
Author
Alabama Arise
Report

The State of Working Alabama 2021

Introduction When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Alabama in March 2020, it didn’t just cause massive human suffering and economic disruption. It also revealed suffering and disruption that have long existed and that policymakers have long neglected – or even perpetuated. COVID-19 has laid bare deep racial inequities in Alabama’s economy and social system that have [...]
Issues
Budgets, Health, Housing, Safety Net, Economic Opportunity, Coronavirus, Medicaid Expansion
Date
February 22, 2021
Author
Alabama Arise
Report

The State of Working Alabama 2021, Section 1 – Introduction: The high cost of failing to protect the common good

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Alabama in March 2020, it didn’t just cause massive human suffering and economic disruption. It also revealed suffering and disruption that have long existed and that policymakers have long neglected – or even perpetuated. COVID-19 has laid bare deep racial and gender inequities in Alabama’s economy and social system that [...]
Issues
Housing, Safety Net, Economic Opportunity, Coronavirus, Medicaid Expansion, Budgets, Health
Date
February 22, 2021
Author
Jim Carnes
All Issue Resources